MPUMALANGA TO HOST SMALL BUSINESS AND CO-OPERATIVES SUMMIT

MPUMALANGA TO HOST SMALL BUSINESS AND CO-OPERATIVES SUMMIT

Mpumalanga Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC, Mr. Sikhumbuzo Eric Kholwane and the Minister of Small Business Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, will host the Mpumalanga Small Business and Co-operatives Summit on Tuesday, 9 December 2014.

Minister Lindiwe Zulu will deliver a keynote address. The SMME conference seeks to give concrete expression to government’s commitment to prioritise entrepreneurship and the advancement of Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) as a catalyst for economic development and job creation. It will provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on the economic potential of SMMEs as well as the key challenges confronting the sector in the province.

The summit provides practitioners and policy-makers in the SMME sector with the opportunity to share their views and insights with the MEC and Minister on how to provide effective support to small businesses and co-operatives.

Minister Lindiwe Zulu says: “This conference presents national government with a platform to engage provincial stakeholders on how we can move the South African

economy forward through SMME development. We continue to count on the collective wisdom and perspectives of our people and their organised formations. We are confident that this conference will help us identify issues that must inform our strategic interventions”.

Both the national department and provincial government are confident that the summit will contribute to the alignment and co-ordination of government interventions for the benefit of small businesses and co-operatives. A number of Development Finance Institutions have also been invited to share information relating to the services that they provide to small businesses and co-operatives.